Gauge for printing presses



A. KLUGE ET AL GAUGE FOR PRINTING PRESSES June 19, 1923; 1,459,105

Filed Nov. 11, 1920 lid- . if 29 26 I fizve71i' or5 abel Kluge i rzeval filuge jE-YW ABEL KLUGE AND ENEVAL KiLUGE, OF ST. PAUL, lEINNESOTA, ASSIGNOBS, BY MESNIE ASSIGNMENTS, TO BRANDTJEN & KLUGE, INCORPORATED, OF ST. PAUL, MQENNE- SO'KA, A. CORPORATION 01 MINNESOTA.

GAUGE FOR PRIItTTING PRESSES.

Application filed November 11, 1920. Serial No. 428,448.

To all whom it may concern: Be it'known that we, ABEL Knuen and ENEVAL KLUc-n, citizens of the United States residing in the city of St. Paul, county Ramsey, and State of Minnesota, have invented new and. useful Improvements in Gauges for Printing Presses, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in lo gauges for printing presses.

In the use of printing presses of the platen type fed by hand or by mechanical means, sheets are subject to being lifted laterally from proper position against the lower gauge-pins by air pressure and the exact longitudinal position of said sheets upon the platen is difficult to attain.

It isthe object of our invention to provide a simple, durable and inexpensive device of this kind adapted to hold a sheet against lateral displacement upon a platen and to shift the sheet endwise thereon from approxirnately desired longitudinal position into exactly correct longitudinal position, preparatory to the taking of the impremion.

A further object is to provide a device of this nature, which is operated in synchro nism with and by the movements of the platen and associated parts.

With the foregoing and othcrobjects in view, which will appear in the following descript-ion, the invention resides in the novel combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter, de-

scribed and claimed.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is an end elevation illustrating the usual platen, gripper-bar and grippers of an ordinary platen press, together .with our improved device applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same.

Referring to the drawings, we employ the reference numeral 10 to indicate an ordinary platen, which is supplied with the usual gripper-bar 11 and grippers 12. In common practice, the platen of a press is swung fr om approximately horizontal receiving position to substantially vertical printing position, the gripper-bar 11 being tilted thereon by a cam actuated arm 13, so that the grippers 12 will engage a sheet, on the platen, about to receive an impression. Our device is carried principally by'the platen 10 and o rated by the gripper-barn, which is ti ted with respect to said platen. This device 1ncludes a longitudinally slidable rod 14 supported and guided in bearings 15 secured to the lower edge of the platen 10. A side registergauge 16, fitted with an ordinary gauge-pin l7 and carried upon said rod 14,

lies closely above the platen 10, as shown in Fig. 3. Said gauge 16 is slidably mounted upon the rod 14 and may be locked in desired longitudinal positions thereon by means of a set nut 18, threaded in said gauge and arranged to bear against said rod. The usual brackets 19 on the platen 1O pivotally support the gripper-bar 11. A rocker-arm 20 is pivoted beneath one of these brackets 19 on a bolt 21 passing through said bracket. A link 22 joins said rocker-arm 20 with a downturned end 15 of the rod 15. Said link 22' is connected at one end with the rocker-arm 20 by means of a stud 23 threaded in the-latter, while the opposite end of said link is formed with a. bore which receive-s said downturned'end15. A eamslide 24 on the free end of the rocker-arm 20 is designed to severally engage two abut-' merits 25 and 26 on a pin 27 carried bythe gr pper -bar 11. Said cam-slide 24 comprises a curved rod, one end of which is insorted in a longitudinal bore in. the rocker- ,end to the platen 10, serves to maintain engagement between the cam-slide 24 and its respective abutment member and also shifts the-rod 14 in one direction. The action of the abutments 25 and 26 against the camslide 24 reverses'the movement of the rod 14 against the action of the spring 30. With the cam-slide 24 engaging the abutment 25 as shown in solid lines, Fig. 8, the gau e 16 (solid lines) is shifted to the. left byt e action of the spring 30, when the gripperbar is moved to swing the grippers toward the platen. Said gauge is thereafter retracted by the action of the abutment 25 upon the cam slide 24, when the-movement o sion. That position in which the sheet is left by said gauge may be accurately de-;

termined by proper longitudinal adjustment of the gauge 16 upon the rod 14. It may be desired to shift a sheet in the reverse direc- .lines, Fig. 3).

tion upon the platen 10, or in other words, to the right as seen in Fig. 3. We provide for'such operation as follows: The gaugepin 17 on the gauge 16 is reversed and 581d gauge slid along the rod 14: and fixed thereon near the left end of the platen (dotted The cam-slide 24 is readjusted so as to bear against the abutment 26 on the lug 29 (dotted lines, Fig. 3). More ment of the gripper-bar 11 to swing the grippers 12 against the platen 10, then results in shifting the gauge 16 to the right (Flg. 3) through the action of the abutment 26 and cam-slide 24, while movement of said gripper-bar 11 in the opposite direction permits the retraction of said gauge by the spring 30. We supply a holder H to retain a sheet temporarily against the lower gauge-pins 31, while the platen 10 approaches printing position and prior to the correcting'thrust of the gauge 16. This holder H retains a sheet in the positionin which it is fed during the initial working throw of the platen 10 and is withdrawn from the sheet by the action of the gripper-bar 11 prior to the working thrust of the gauge 16. Said holder includes a curved arm 32, one end thereof being pivotally supported on a bracket 33' depending from the platen 10 and the other end there of resting above the gripper-bar 11. 4 A finger 34, pivoted on said last mentioned end 'of said arm, has its free end lightly and yieldingly pressed against the platen 10 by means of a spring 35, encircling a pin 36 joining said arm and finger, one end of said spring being placed upon the arm 32 and the 1 other end thereof upon the finger. 34. Said free end of the finger 34 has an upturned tip 37 to guide the margin of a sheet therebeneath. A spiral spring 38, stretched between the arm 32 and a pin 39 in the platen 10, yieldingly holds said arm in contact with the free side of the gripper-bar 11. Said spring 38 throws the arm in one direction,

, in the absence of resistance, and said arm is so shaped that the gripper-bar 11- in one of its swinging movements on the platen 10 will throw said arm 32 in the opposite direc-' tion against the action ,of the spring 38. We have constructed the arm 32 and finger 34 so that the latter will occupy the highest position upon the platen 10, when the platen .printing position.

is in receiving position. In such position a sheet is readily slipped beneath the tip 37- of the finger 34 and against the bottom gauge-pins 31. The curvature of the arm 32 is such that the finger 34 will be withdrawn from the sheet during the working stroke of the platen, but not entirely removed therefrom until said platen closely approaches Such placement of the platen is coincident with the initial working stroke of the gauge 16. It will, therefore, be seen that the finger 34 performs its function of holding a sheet upon the platen during the initial throw thereof and that said adapted to engage and hold the lower edge of a sheet against the platen and a movable support for said finger yieldingly mounted on the platen, said support being engaged with and actuated by the gripper-bar to slide the finger downward out of sheetem gaging position. I i

2. The combination with a platen and gripper-bar of a printing press, of an arm mounted beneath the platen and curved upward over the gripper-bar, and a yielding finger carried by the arm and adapted to engage the lower-marginof a sheet on the platen, said arm being engaged with and actuated by the gripper-bar to withdraw said finger from sheet engaging position.

3. The combination with a platen and gripper-bar of a printing press, of aregister gauge carried by the platen and shiftalble sidewise thereon, means actuated by the gripper-bar for moving said gauge and means for holding a sheet upon the platen, said means being designed to be rendered inoperative by the action of the gripperbar prior to the sheet registering stroke of ated by said gripper-bar upon movement thereof with respect to said platen, the sheet holder being rendered inoperative upon the reglstermg stroke of the gauge.

5. The. combination with the platen and.

gripper-bar of a printing press, of a rod slidably mounted on the platen, a gauge adjustably secured to said rod and arranged to rest closely adjacent to the face of the platen, a rocker arm on the platen connected with said rod, means actuated by the movement of the gripper-bar for oscillating said arm, whereby u on. one stroke of the gauge a sheet is shi ted longitudinally to desired positionand upon the reverse stroke said gauge is retracted, and holding means shifted into and out of operative position by said gripper-bar, said holding means being rendered inoperative upon the registering stroke of the gauge.

6. The combination with a platen and gripper-bar of a printing press, of a rod slidably mounted on the platen at its lower edge, a gauge adjustably secured'to said rod and arranged to rest closely adjacent to the face of the platen, a rocker-arm mounted at one end of the platen, a link joinin said rocker-arm and rod, a spring for shifting the rod in one direction, a cam-slide on the rocker arm and an abutment on the gripper-bar arranged to bear against the cam-slide and shitt the rod in a direction against the action of said spring.

7. The combination with a platen and gri per-bar of a printing press,-of a rod sli ably mounted on the platen at its lower edge, a gauge adjustably secured to said rod and arranged to rest closely adjacent to the face of the platen, a rocker-arm mounted at one end of the platen, a link joining said rocker-arm and rod, a sprin for shifting the rod in one direction, an adjustable camslide on the rocker arm, abu-tments on the grippen-baradapted to be severally engaged by the cam-slide and designed to shift said rod as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification.

' ABEL KLUGE.

ENEVAL KLUGE. 

